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When it comes to cost of living you could be better staying where you are – in South East Asia, that’s the message from a recent expat survey. But are you really making the most of those savings?

According to a recent expat cost of living survey you may well be able to count your blessings – and your savings – by living in a city in South East Asia. In a list of fifty of the world’s most expensive places to live there isn’t one South East Asian country listed.

Returning to Cambodia, on the way to the airport in Bangkok on 6.11.2009, the driver of the taxi I took – as soon as he knew that I was going to Cambodia - spoke almost the whole way about his surprise and anger that the former Thai prime minister, who was convicted to go to prison for being implicated in big, illegally land dealings in the Ratchadapisek area of Bangkok, and who lied to the court when he left the country on bail “for some days only” but never came back, is now invited by the Cambodian Prime Minister to come to Cambodia as adviser to the government. “Are there no laws against corruption in Cambodia?” - Surely, another taxi driver might have had a different evaluation; but it was an impressive outburst of firm convictions.

“Though there have been some hostilities regarding border disputes, the Thai government has included Khmer language teaching into the state curriculum at many schools, following a request by the Khmer Language and Culture Association of Surin Province (LCASP).

I have a good idea. How about go to Thailand, go to an American style luxury shopping mall, and then eat some Japanese hamburgers? That is exactly what I did when I went to the Japanese burger chain Mos Burger in the Siam Paragon shopping center.

Back in San Francisco, living across the street from a Thai restaurant, eating Thai food more than once a week was completely out of the question. Fast forward 3 months and I live in Bangkok and eating Thai food is a daily occurrence. Sometimes Thai food is on the menu multiple times per day.

Phuket –Thailand: Ekkarat Sriden of Kamala Beach used his small wave prowess to full effect in a challenging final at Kalim Beach on Sunday to take the top spot in the Men’s Open division at the first contest of the three event Quiksilver Thailand Surf Series in the beautiful world class tourist destination of Phuket.